Chapter 14
Fourteen
The Evil Queen
HILDA
I’m screaming.
No sound comes out. My mouth doesn’t move. My body doesn’t respond.
Because my body isn’t mine anymore.
I’m trapped inside myself, watching through eyes I can’t control as my hands move without permission. As my mouth speaks words I’m not saying.
The mirror is wearing me like a fucking suit.
And I let it in.
After the heat stripped me bare, after my mates broke down every wall I had, I was raw. Lost.
The mirror whispered in the darkness: “Let me help you remember who you are.”
I was desperate. So desperate to feel like myself again.
So I said yes.
Fuck. Fuck.
Now I’m a prisoner while it uses my body like a puppet.
I watch my hands spread across the workbench in my old private chambers. The cold, lonely rooms I abandoned when my wolves claimed me.
Dark magic crackles from my fingertips…magic I haven’t used in ages.
I don’t want this magic. Don’t want any of this.
Stop, I scream silently. Let me go.
It doesn’t listen. Just keeps working, using my hands to mix shit I don’t recognize. Cuts my palm open without hesitation, uses my blood to draw symbols on glass.
Fuck, it’s making a new vessel. A new body to inhabit.
And once it has that, it won’t need me anymore.
What happens to me then? Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I try to fight. Try to move my hand, a finger, anything. But it’s like being paralyzed. I feel everything…the pain, the exhaustion, the nausea…but I can’t control shit.
Baylin. Callum. Arkan.
Please find me!
But they’re gone. The mirror made me push them away. Made me attack Baylin with magic.
They probably think I chose this. Think I went back to being the Evil Queen.
I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.
The evil spirit speaks through my mouth. “Almost finished, my queen. Soon I’ll have a proper form again.”
No!
“You had everything and traded it for three rutting animals.”
They’re not animals. They’re my family.
“They stripped away your power. Your very identity.”
They gave me love. They gave me…
A knock interrupts my silent rebuke.
The mirror makes my body smile. Cold. Cruel.
“Come in.”
A servant enters. “Your Majesty, Prince Caspian has arrived. He wishes to speak about the wedding arrangements.”
The wedding.
I feel the mirror’s anticipation.
“Send him in,” my mouth says.
No! Don’t hurt him. Don’t ruin this for Snow.
But I can’t stop it.
Caspian enters…young, clearly in love.
He bows. “Your Majesty, I wanted to confirm the date…”
“There will be no wedding,” my mouth spits out.
Caspian freezes. “I’m sorry?”
“I’ve reconsidered my blessing.” The damned parasite walks my body toward him. “I was weak. Influenced by those alphas. They clouded my judgment. But I’m myself again now. And I won’t allow my stepdaughter to marry some minor prince.”
Stop! Please stop!
Caspian’s face hardens. “Snow White is an adult. She doesn’t need your permission.”
The mirror smiles cruelly with my face. Wrong. All wrong.
“But she does need to live to marry you.”
Dark magic crackles from the tips of my fingers.
No no no no…
“Leave my kingdom. Forget Snow White. Or I’ll make sure you never marry anyone.”
“You’re mad,” Caspian breathes, eyes wide, face pale.
“I’m a queen. And you’re trespassing. Leave. Now.”
He backs toward the door, smart enough to maintain eye contact.
“This isn’t over.”
“Oh, but it is.” The mirror laughs with my voice, and it sounds awful. Fucking evil and not mine at all. “Run along, little boy.”
He leaves.
Why? I scream without a sound being heard. Why are you doing this?
“Because this is who you are. Powerful. Feared. Alone.”
I don’t want to be alone!
“Those wolves don’t love you. They love having an omega. Any omega would do.”
That’s not true!
But it’s not listening; it’s already moving my body back to the workbench.
I’m trapped inside my own head.
Alone.
Helpless.
Watching myself destroy everything I care about.
Please. Someone. Help me.
* * *
CALLUM
I watch from the shadows as Prince Caspian storms out of Hilda’s old chambers, face pale, furious.
Baylin was right. Something’s very fucking wrong.
I follow Caspian, staying hidden as he heads straight for Snow White’s quarters.
When she opens the door, her expression of joy fades to concern. “Caspian? What’s wrong?”
“Your stepmother. She threatened me. Forbade our wedding. And she used magic.”
Snow blanches. “No. She wouldn’t. She’s different now…”
“She threatened your life. Said if I didn’t leave you alone, she’d make sure I could never marry.”
Snow is shaking her head. “The mirror is gone. She’s free. She has her mates, she’s pregnant…”
She stops. Eyes going wide.
“The mirror,” she whispers.
“What about it?”
“They destroyed the glass. But what if they didn’t destroy the creature inside it?” She looks terrified. “What if it’s in her?”
Fuck.
That’s it.
The mirror possessed our mate.
I step out of the shadows. “You’re right.”
They both jump.
“Tell me everything you know about that fucking mirror,” I ask Snow.
She swallows. “It wasn’t just magic. It was inhabited by something. A spirit. It fed on negative emotions. It’s been with Hilda since before she married my father.”
“And when we broke the glass?”
She wrings her small hands. “I think you broke its physical form. But the spirit must have survived.”
“How do we kill it?” I hear myself growl.
She shakes her head, eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know. I was just a child…”
“Then we find someone who does. A witch. A mage. Someone.”
She thinks for a beat. “There’s that witch in the northern forest. She helped my mother once. Her cabin’s near the old oak grove.”
“How far?”
She worries her lower lip. “I’d say three hours north.”
I nod, already planning, and turn to leave.
“What are you going to do?” Caspian calls after me.
“Save my mate. Then destroy that fucking mirror for good.”
I find Baylin and Arkan outside Hilda’s private chambers.
“She’s been in there for hours,” Arkan grunts, eyes wild, hair a mess from running his fingers through it.
I look between them. “The spirit of the mirror survived when we broke the glass. It’s making her do things she’d never do. It’s not her.”
Baylin snarls.
“How do we get it out of Hilda?” Arkan roars.
I clench my jaw, fighting to keep it together. “There’s a witch a couple of hours away who might know.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Baylin growls.
“Then we figure it out ourselves.” I start walking. “Because we’re not losing our mate to some fucking devil spirit.”
We quickly gather supplies. Weapons. Water.
Before we leave, I stop in front of Hilda’s door one last time.
“Let’s try the bond.”
We all reach for her.
Nothing. Just empty void.
Then…for just a second…a pulse. Faint. Desperate.
Help me.
“She’s alive,” I breathe out. “Trapped but alive. Fighting. Thank fuck.”
Baylin’s eyes flash. “Then we fight.”
“Damn right.” I head for the door. “Let’s go get our mate back.”
* * *
ARKAN
The witch lives in a cottage that looks like it grew out of the forest itself.
We approach cautiously, but she’s already waiting on the porch when we arrive. Old. Sharp-eyed. Dangerous.
“Three wolves,” she observes. “Looking for something.”
“Information,” Callum says. “Our mate is possessed. We need to know how to break it.”
She studies us for a long moment. “Possessed by what?”
“A mirror spirit. Dark magic. It’s been feeding on her for years.”
The old woman’s expression darkens. “Mirror spirits are powerful parasites. They burrow deep. And possession happens when the host is vulnerable…broken open, defenseless.”
“Can we kill it?” I ask impatiently.
“You can. But not from the outside.” She looks at each of us. “The spirit is inside her mind. Wrapped around her consciousness. If you attack the body, you’ll kill her too.”
“Then how?” Baylin growls.
“She has to kill it herself. From the inside.”
“She’s trapped,” Callum says. “She can’t fight back.”
“She can if you give her a reason to.” The witch stands. “The spirit feeds on doubt, fear, self-hatred. But love? Belonging? Those are poison to it. You need to remind her who she is. What she’s fighting for.”
“How do we do that if we can’t reach her?” I ask, frustrated, defeated.
“You reach her through the bond. Even severed, the mate bond doesn’t break completely. It’s still there. Buried. You just have to dig deep enough.”
She disappears inside her cottage and returns with a vial of silver liquid.
“This will amplify your bond. Let you speak directly into your omega’s mind. But…” She holds up a hand. “It’s dangerous. The spirit will feel you coming. It will fight back. And if you’re not strong enough, it will consume you too.”
“We’re strong enough,” Baylin growls, eyes flashing wolf.
She smiles grimly. “We’ll see. Now go. You don’t have much time. If the spirit finds a new vessel, it won’t need her anymore. It’ll kill her and take full physical form.”
We run.
Halfway back to the castle, Callum shifts mid-stride. His massive wolf form, tawny and gold, tears through the forest. Arkan’s dark brown fur rippling as he picks up speed.
Three wolves. Hunting as a pack.
We’re coming for our mate.
We hit the castle at full speed, giant wolves storming through the hallways. Servants scatter. Guards freeze.
Hilda’s door is locked.
Baylin slams into it, and the wood splinters.
We pour inside, three giant beasts filling her workspace.
Hilda’s standing at the workbench, hands glowing with dark magic, a new mirror resting on the surface.
She turns to us.
Three wolves, hackles raised, teeth bared, ready to rip the darkness out of her.
The spirit wearing her face smiles. Cold. Wrong.
“Three little wolves,” it purrs. “Come to play?”
Callum is the first one to shift back, standing mighty, naked and furious. He fucking roars, “We’ve come to get our mate back!”
Arkan and I are next, flanking him.
The spirit laughs with Hilda’s voice. “She’s mine. Like she always was.”
“Bullshit.” Callum uncorks the vial the witch gave us. “She belongs with us. And we’re taking her back.”
We each take a sip, passing the small bottle quickly. The silver liquid burns going down.
Then our bond fucking explodes to life. Not just amplified. Blazing.
I can feel Hilda. Really feel her. Trapped deep inside herself, screaming, fighting.
Hilda, I call through the bond. We’re here, sweetheart.
The spirit screams, and Hilda’s body convulses.
“Stay out!” it shrieks.
“No,” Baylin snarls back at it.
We push harder, pouring everything through the bond. Love. Loyalty. Pack.
You’re ours, little one. Come back to us.
* * *
HILDA
I feel them.
Fuck do I feel them.
Our bond’s suddenly blinding with power, and I can hear them. Actually hear them calling me.
Hilda. We’re here. Come back.
The mirror is screaming, thrashing, trying to hold on.
But they’re stronger.
They’re reminding me of who I am. What I’m fighting for.
Not the Evil Queen.
Not the mirror’s puppet.
Their omega. Their mate. Their pack.
And I have pups. Our little ones growing inside me. Our babies need me to fight.
So I push back. Hard as I can.
I feel the mirror’s hold weaken.
No! It screams. You’re mine!
Fuck you, I snarl back. I’m not yours!
I feel my hand move…my hand, under my control…and grab the incomplete vessel.
The mirror realizes what I’m about to do.
No!
I smash it.
Glass shatters. The evil inside me screams, the sound so loud it feels like my head will explode.
It tries to flee, tries to escape my body, but my mates are there. Empowering me.
Now, Callum commands. Kill it now.
Magic still crackles around my fingers.
I turn it inward. Toward the evil wrapped around my consciousness.
And I fucking rip.
The spirit shrieks as I tear it out of myself. Pull it free. Drag it into the physical world, where it’s vulnerable.
It comes out as a writhing shadow, trying to escape.
But Baylin shifts and lunges, his monstrous jaws snapping.
And I drive the magic through it like a spear,making the spirit fucking dissolves. Shriking. Burning. Fucking dying.
Then it’s gone.
Really gone. Shit!
I collapse.
My mates catch me before I hit the floor.
“Hilda,” Callum’s voice is rough with emotion. “Baby, are you…”
“I’m here,” I gasp. “I’m me. I’m…oh fuck…”
I’m sobbing. Shaking. My mates surround me, holding me, and our bonds are whole again. Complete. All three of them blazing bright and strong.
“You came for me,” I whisper in a teary voice.
“Always,” Baylin responds in a thick rumble.
I press my hand to my stomach, feeling for the pups.
Still there. Still safe.
“I almost…it almost made me…”
“But you didn’t,” Callum says firmly. “You fought. You won.”
“We won,” I correct, looking at each of them. My big, tall, handsome, ferocious mates. “You saved me.”
“You saved yourself,” Arkan corrects. “We just gave you a reason to fight.”
I did, didn’t I? I chose them. Chose my pack, my pups.
Chose light over darkness.
“Is it really gone?” I ask.
Callum nods. “You killed it.”
I lean into them, letting them hold me, feeling their alpha purrs vibrate through my body. Their heat, their scents.
I’m home.
With my pack. Where I belong.